Jim's wish for angled burial fixed

Mourners look at floral tributes left for Sir Jimmy Savile at his grave in Scarborough
12 April 2012

The family of Sir Jimmy Savile has fixed his final wish, to be buried at a 45-degree angle overlooking the sea in his beloved Scarborough.

The broadcasting legend chose the most elevated position in the peaceful Woodlands Cemetery, in the North Yorkshire town, for its spectacular sea view.

However as the star's gold-coloured coffin was carefully lowered into the grave on Thursday afternoon, all that could be seen through the mist was the ghostly shape of Scarborough Castle in the distance.

The weather did not deter hundreds of well-wishers who turned out to pay their respects to Sir Jimmy, who was a Freeman of the Borough of Scarborough.

The veteran DJ, who died last month at his flat in Leeds just two days before his 85th birthday, made his final journey through his "second home", starting at his flat on the Esplanade. As the cortege made its way on to the Foreshore, the funeral director got out of the hearse and slowly walked the cars along the seafront.

The people lined up along the road filled with amusement arcades and seaside shops burst into applause as the coffin passed by. The Futurist theatre paid its own tribute to one of Scarborough's best-loved celebrities by putting "Goodbye Jimmy" on its show board.

The cortege continued past the lifeboat station and harbour, where Sir Jimmy used to mix with the lifeboat men and fishermen, and Peasholm Park before arriving at the cemetery. Around 100 members of the public gathered in the cemetery to watch the short burial service. Sir Jimmy's family and friends stood next to the grave, some wearing specially-made badges reading "Jim Fixed It For Me".

The DJ's niece, Mandy McKenna, gave a reading by the grave before Father Martin Kelly, a Catholic priest from the Diocese of Leeds, paid tribute.

The priest said Sir Jimmy, who raised millions for charity and ran more than 200 marathons in support of good causes, was "a man who had a place deep in people's hearts". He added: "These past days have spoken of the great affection with which Jimmy Savile was held by so many."

After the coffin was lowered into the grave in its elevated position, friends and family members threw white roses - the symbol of Yorkshire - on to the casket.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Sign up you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy notice .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in